Rex and Hannah Chronicles Story No 31: Last Mission Of The U-28
by Tim66
Summary: As Halloween approaches, Rex and Hannah find encounter the ghosts of a World War I German U-Boat crew.


**Last Mission Of The U-28**

DISCLAIMER: This story is based upon the series, Charmed, that was created by Constance M. Burge. All Charmed characters are the property of Spelling Productions.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know next to nothing about submarines and the terminology that goes with them. If I slip up on a few facts, please forgive me. Enjoy the story.

**THE PLACE: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA**

**THE TIME: OCTOBER 30****th****, 2013**

Quake Restaurant was having a busy lunch hour. Among the customers were Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster. "Nice that we could squeeze this meal in after our Halloween shopping." Hannah said as she glanced down at the bags of Halloween candy, which were on the floor beside the table they were eating at.

"Well, since I had no morning classes today, it was easy." Rex replied. "At least we could get our Halloween shopping done for another year."

"Yeah, we're ready." Hannah said. "Paige also called yesterday. We're invited to the Halliwell's annual Halloween party." she paused. "Now, what should I go as. I've got to start thinking of a costume."

"Yes, and I should consider what to wear as well." Rex smiled. "Of course, Hannah, we'll probably get involved in something first."

"Huh?"

"It seems that every time Halloween rolls around, something magical happens." Rex said. "I was just wondering what it was going to be this time."

"Geez, Rex, don't jinx it." Hannah said, laughing. "Maybe this year, things will be peaceful for a change."

**SAN FRANCISCO BAY**

The waters were blue and serene. Everything looked normal, except for the periscope that popped up out of the water and began panning the bay.

Executive Officer Karl Dietz, of the Imperial German Navy, squinted as he peered through the viewer of the periscope. The sight of the Golden Gate Bridge was visible. "We've arrived."

"Are you sure, sir?" one of the crewmen, Lutz, asked.

"Yes, I am." Dietz said. "I must go and inform the captain." With those words, Dietz turned and left the operations room.

Captain Heinrich Kruger sat at his desk and looked around his state room for probably the hundredth time this day. The walls were decorated with various military citations, a large portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm II, which was prominently displayed, and a calendar dated October of 1915. Kruger smiled grimly, he knew what that date meant for himself, and all his crew. Perhaps this was why he kept that calendar around, as a reminder of what had happened on that autumn day, so long ago. He was still looking at it when a knock sounded on the door of the state room. "Come." he said.

"Begging your pardon, captain." Dietz said as he came into the room. "We've arrived at our destination."

"San Francisco?" Kruger asked.

"Yes." Dietz replied. "Captain, are you sure what we're looking for is here?"

"Yes, Karl, I am. It's here, and we'll find it."

"Yes, but the men wonder, we've followed so many false trails before." Dietz said. "Some of us are weary of this quest."

"I know how you feel, Karl." Kruger said. "However, we must get back what is ours. Only then can we finally end this mission. I hope, Karl, you still support me on this."

"Nearly a century ago, I gave you my loyalty. I will not question it now, sir."

"Excellent, Karl." Kruger said. The two officers then headed back to the operations room. "Prepare to surface." Kruger commanded and watched as the crew quickly carried out his orders.

"Shall I arrange a shore party." Dietz asked.

"Yes, Karl, and we'll lead it." Kruger said. "I don't think we'll have to worry about anyone seeing us." Kruger and Dietz smiled at this comment. One advantage to being a ghost was the ability to move about unseen.

**SAN FRANCISCO **

After finishing their meal at Quake, Rex and Hannah were walking down the street towards their car. "Gotta get this candy home and ready." Hannah said as she indicated the bags she and Rex were carrying.

"Hannah, we still have a day to prepare." Rex replied.

"Yes, but..." Hannah began, but broke off as she caught sight of a group of oddly uniformed men who has just come around a corner a few blocks ahead. _Someone is jumping the gun this Halloween. _Hannah thought. Then she saw that said group was moving through other people and objects, clearly indicating they were ghosts. "Uh, Rex, remember when you said we were bound to get involved in something this Halloween?"

"Yes, I remember. Why?"

"Because I think we just have." Hannah said as she pointed towards the group of uniformed ghosts who were slowly coming their way.

"Indeed." Rex said as he turned to look at the ghosts. "Imperial German Navy, by the looks of those uniforms."

"You mean from World War I?" Hannah asked.

"Yes." Rex replied and focused his eyes on the uniforms themselves. "U-28. That must have been their submarine."

"So what are the ghosts of World War I German U-Boat crew doing in San Francisco?" Hannah asked.

"There is only one way to find out, Hannah, and that's to ask them." Rex said as he led Hannah towards the uniformed ghosts.

_This should be interesting. _Hannah thought as she followed Rex.

"Captain, I think we've been spotted." Dietz said as the shore party made their way down the street.

"Karl, you know we can't be seen by mortals." Kruger replied.

"Yes, but that man and woman coming towards us seem to be an exception." Dietz pointed to a dark haired man and a red headed woman who were headed their way.

"Yes, Karl, they do seem to see us. Interesting. In many long years, this is the first time this has happened." Kruger replied. "Let's just see what they want."

"Gentlemen." Rex said in German, once he and Hannah had reached the phantoms. "Can we be of assistance?"

"You speak our language." the ghost, who seemed to be in charge, said.

"Yes, languages are my specialty." Rex replied. "I'm actually British."

"An Englishman!" one of the other ghosts said. "Hell will freeze over before we accept help from the likes of you!"

"Stand down, crewman! That's an order!" the lead ghost barked to the crew man in question and then turned back to Rex. "I'm Captain Heinrich Kruger, of the Imperial German Navy. You'll have to forgive crewman Grunstand for speaking out like that."

"Perfectly understandable, considering the circumstances." Rex replied and then introduced himself and Hannah. "You lot do realize that the war you fought in ended nearly a century ago."

"We know that. It's not vengeance we seek." Kruger said. "Rather it's something very dear to us. Something that was stolen from us. We've been looking for it for a very long time."

"Perhaps Hannah and I can help." Rex suggested.

"I think not." Kruger said, shaking his head. "This conversation has been interesting, but my crew and I must resume our search." With that, Kruger led his men away.

"Okay, what was all that about?" Hannah asked. Not knowing a word of German, she had been totally clueless to the conversation between Rex and Kruger.

"I don't know, Hannah, but I intend to find out." Rex replied. "Let's go."

**PALO ALTO**

Once they had returned to their apartment, Rex and Hannah had put away the Halloween candy and adjourned to the study, where they were now surfing the Internet. "Here it is, Hannah, the U-28." Rex said, once he found what they were looking for. "It was launched soon after the war broke out in 1914."

Hannah looked on as Rex brought up a picture of the crew. "That's the men we just saw, or rather their ghosts." she said. She focused on one of the men in the picture. "He seemed to be in charge."

"Captain Heinrich Kruger. The chap standing next to him is Executive Officer Karl Dietz." Rex said as he read the names on the crew roster. "Apparently, this crew was quite good at their jobs."

"Sinking ships." Hannah said grimly.

"It was wartime, Hannah, don't forget that." Rex replied. "Our side did their share of sinking ships too." He read the information on the screen. "Hmmmm, this crew was so good, even under fire, that Kaiser Wilhelm II himself presented them with an Iron Cross for bravery at the beginning of 1915." The picture on the screen now showed the Kaiser presenting Kruger and his crew with the Iron Cross. "It must have been quite an honour."

"What happened?" Hannah asked.

"What happened was that their luck finally ran out." Rex said. "In October of 1915, in the North Atlantic, the U-28 was attacking an Allied convoy when they were sunk by a British warship. The sub broke up as it sank, no survivors."

"Does it say what day it happened?"

"Yes, Hannah, it does." Rex replied. "The U-28 was sunk on October 31st, 1915."

"Halloween." Hannah said slowly.

"Quite. Tomorrow will be the 98th anniversary of that event." Rex said slowly.

"So what are they doing here?" Hannah asked. "San Francisco is a long way from the North Atlantic."

"Captain Kruger mentioned that they were looking for something, Hannah. Something he said was stolen from them."

"Which was?"

"He didn't say." Rex then glanced at his watch. "I'm afraid this is going to have to wait. I have a class to teach."

"I'll keep on this, Rex." Hannah said as she slightly frowned.

"Hannah, what is it?" Rex asked.

"There's something gnawing at the back of my mind, Rex. Something about all this that looking at this information brought up. Maybe if I can figure it out, it will help us get answers."

"Right, Hannah, you keep digging. We'll compare notes when I get back." Rex said as he got up and prepared to leave.

**SAN FRANCISCO BAY**

"Captain, I don't understand." Dietz said, once the crew had returned to the U-28. "Why did you stop the search?"

"Because we must wait for tomorrow, Karl." Kruger replied.

"The anniversary of our sinking."

"Yes, only then can we undo the injustice that was done to us." Kruger said.

"Is that really necessary, sir? I still say we could have found it now."

"No, Karl, we must wait." Kruger assured. "It has to be tomorrow. On that day, the barriers between this world and the next temporarily weaken. We can then draw more spirit energy if needed. Besides, we've waited a long time for this, Karl, will another day really matter?"

"No, Captain, I suppose not." Dietz said. "Still, it will be good to finally complete this mission. It's been so very long."

"It has, Karl." Kruger said, nodding his head. "It has."

**PALO ALTO**

When Rex got home, he found an excited Hannah waiting for him. "Hannah, what is it?"

"I think I know what's been bugging me, Rex." Hannah replied. "It's that medal you said the crew of the U-28 got."

"The Iron Cross."

"Yes, that. I think I may have seen it." Hannah said.

"Seen it? Where?" Rex asked.

"Back when we were working at the auction house." Hannah replied. "I handled a lot of items that came in. I'm sure one of them was an Iron Cross."

"Are you positive?"

"Not one hundred percent." Hannah said. "It was a long time ago, after all. Still, the ghosts of a World War I German crew show up in the same city where an Iron Cross, from that same era, may have been auctioned. There has to be a connection."

"Then we should follow up on that. I take it you found out just where the records of all transactions at Buckland Auction House are now kept, since the building no longer exists."

"Yes, the records were moved to a warehouse in Sausalito when the auction house went bankrupt in 2004." Hannah replied.

"Then tonight we paid said warehouse a visit." Rex said. "Well done, Hannah."

**SAUSALITO**

Once evening fell, Rex translocated himself and Hannah into the warehouse where the records for Buckland Auction House were stored.

"I feel like a thief." Hannah said as she looked around.

"Don't talk like that, Hannah." Rex said. "We're here for information, nothing more." In no time, they had found the Buckland records. "Right, since you remember handling the Iron Cross, Hannah, that means we should limit our search to when we were working at the auction house."

"That means from August 1998 through January 1999." Hannah replied. "Let's get to work." The two former Warlocks quickly got to work. About an hour later, Hannah said: "Rex, I think I found it!" she triumphantly held up a file.

"Let's see." Rex said as the two of them moved to a nearby table and laid the file out. Using a flashlight, Rex read what had been written.

_Genuine First World War Iron Cross, recovered from the wreckage of a German U-Boat on May 22__nd__, 1987, by an American business man named Arthur Wilson. A background check by Mr. Wilson revealed that the U-Boat had been sunk in October of 1915, all hands were lost in said sinking._

_Upon Mr. Wilson's death on November 3__rd__, 1999, said Iron Cross was consigned to Buckland Auction House by his heirs._

"That must be it." Hannah said. "The dates match up. I guess Arthur Wilson taking the Iron Cross from the wreckage of th U-Boat is what woke up the ghosts of the crew."

"It fits." Rex replied. "As I said, they got that Iron Cross from the Kaiser himself, a very high honour. I can understand why, from their perspective, the Iron Cross was stolen."

"They must have spent years looking for it, Rex."

"And now it seems they have." Rex said. "Hannah, check the records and see who bought the Iron Cross when it was auctioned off."

"I already did." Hannah replied. "It was bought by a man named Jeffery Milner. He lives in San Francisco."

"I think, Hannah, that tomorrow we should pay Mr. Milner a visit. I feel we will not be the only ones calling on him."

**PALO ALTO**

**OCTOBER 31****st**

Another Halloween had dawned and Rex and Hannah, as always, were looking forward to it. "However, Hannah, we have business to attend to first."

"I found Jeffery Milner in the phone book." Hannah said and held out a sheet of paper. "Here's his address."

"Right, let's be off."

**SAN FRANCISCO**

Kruger and his crew had also resumed their search. "Captain, look, it's that Englishman and his lady friend we met yesterday." Dietz said as he spotted Rex and Hannah a few blocks ahead.

"Yes, I see them too, Karl. They offered to help us yesterday." Kruger replied. "I turned them down, but now I may have been in error. I get a feeling that they may lead us to our Iron Cross. Let's follow them."

"Yes, sir." Dietz said, grinning at the thought of finally completing their mission.

"Yes, I bought a First World War Iron Cross at auction in 1999." Jeffery Milner replied to Rex's question. The three of them were standing in Milner's living room, Rex and Hannah having arrived only moments before. Introductions had been quickly made.

"You still have it then?" Rex asked.

"Yes, I have. What of it?" Milner asked.

"We would like to buy it from you." Hannah said.

"What for?"

"We know some people who consider that cross very dear to them." Rex said. "We'd like to return it to them."

"This is crazy." Milner said. "The people that cross belonged to have been dead for nearly a hundred years now. How can it be dear to them, or anyone?"

"I'd love to explain, Mr. Milner, but you wouldn't understand."

"I think this has gone on long enough." Milner said. "The cross is mine, it's not for sale. That's all I have to say on this."

At was at that point that Kruger and his phantom crew arrived.

_This is going to get interesting. _Hannah thought.

"You!" Kruger said, once he spotted Rex and Hannah. "Have you found our Iron Cross for us yet? I suspect you found out about it."

"Hello Captain Kruger." Rex said, switching to German. "We have. We're trying to persuade this gentleman to return it to you."

"Who the hell are you talking to, and why are you suddenly speaking German?" Milner asked, a look of confusion coming into his eyes.

_Milner can't see Captain Kruger and his crew because he's not magical. _Hannah thought. _Poor guy has no idea what's going on._

"Mr. Milner, I'm going to be honest with you." Rex said. "The ghosts of the crew of the U-Boat, which that Iron Cross came from, are here now. They want it back."

"If this is some sick Halloween joke, I'm not laughing." Milner said with anger.

"I assure you, Mr. Milner, this is no joke. The ghosts are here."

"You know what I think, Buckland, I think you're crazy!" Milner said to Rex and Hannah. "Both of you are. Ghosts, indeed! If you both don't leave my house now, I'm going to call the cops."

"They can't help you." Hannah said. "You have to believe us."

"Right, I'm calling them." Milner said and started for the phone.

"Enough of this!" Kruger said and gestured to one of his crew. The crew man in question quickly went over to the phone and, using spiritual energy, sent it flying before Milner could reach it.

"What the hell!?" Milner said.

"I told you." Hannah said.

"Gah, this is nonsense." Milner said and headed to where the phone was lying on the floor. However, before he could pick it up, the crew man sent it hurtling away again. "What's going on!?" Milner said with rising fear.

"We told you, the ghosts want the Iron Cross back." Rex replied. "Perhaps you should do what they want. Then they, and we, will leave you in peace."

"Yes, yes, okay!" Milner said. "Stay here. I'll get the cross."

"Jolly good." Rex said. "I would advise you not to mention this to anyone."

"Are you kidding? Who the hell would believe me?" Milner asked as he left the room to get the Iron Cross.

**SAN FRANCISCO BAY**

Rex and Hannah stood with Captain Kruger, by the U-28. _How did they do that? _Hannah asked, looking at the sub. _How did they recreate their sub as a ghost ship? I guess we'll never know for sure, and it really doesn't matter._

"I believe this is yours." Rex said as he held out the Iron Cross to Captain Kruger.

"I want to thank the both of you." Kruger said as he took the cross. "My crew and I have waited a long time to get this back."

"I understand what it must mean to you." Rex said. "To be honoured by your Monarch is not something one sees every day."

Before Kruger could reply, Dietz popped his head up out of the nearest hatch. "Captain, we've received a wire."

"A wire? From who?"

"It's from His Highness, Kaiser Wilhelm II." Dietz replied. "It reads 'Your mission has been successfully completed, Come home.' "

_The Kaiser sent the message. _Rex thought. _From somewhere much farther away than Imperial Germany._

"Understood." Kruger replied. "Mr. Dietz, prepare to get underway. Tell the helmsman to sent a course for home."

"Yes sir." Dietz said and disappeared back into the sub.

"Now we go home. Now we rest." Kruger said slowly. With a final goodbye to Rex and Hannah, he boarded the sub. The two former Warlocks watched as the U-28 shoved off and soon submerged beneath the water.

"Their last mission is finally over." Hannah said softly.

"Yes, and I wish them well. I hope this is the last strange event for this Halloween." Rex replied. "Now, Hannah, I must dash if I'm going to make my first class of the day on time. After that, we have trick-or-treaters to get ready for, and a Halloween party at Halliwell Manor to attend. Once we figure out what costumes we're going to wear, of course."

"That's true." Hannah said. "Happy Halloween, Rex."

"Happy Halloween right back at you, Hannah."

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!**

**REX AND HANNAH WILL RETURN IN THE NEW YEAR!**


End file.
